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59% of Top Brands Now On Instagram

Instagram has attracted 59% of the world’s top brands, according to a new study by Simply Measured. The study examines how the Interbrand Top 100 Brands are growing their audiences and driving engagement on the photo-sharing social platform. Audience growth is strong for brands who were early adopters, and new features and policy changes over the last few months have created incentives for more top brands to begin engaging with Instagram.

Nearly 100% of these top brands have already adopted Facebook and Twitter, but adoption of Pinterest and Instagram is rising at a good pace — over just the past three months, Instagram has grown by 9% and Pinterest by 10%. Both image-sharing platforms are outpacing Google+ in terms of growth; Google’s social network only increased brand adoption by 4% in that same time period.

Since August 2012, when Simply Measured first started tracking Instagram adoption among the Interbrand Top 100 Brands, 19 more have established a presence on the mobile site. The study speculates that with the addition of Web Feeds for Instagram, the platform may begin to rival Pinterest for adoption among the top 100 (Instagram is currently at 59%, Pinterest at 69%).

In terms of active users, the two platforms are even closer: 55% of the top 100 brands actively use Instagram, vs. 59% actively using Pinterest.

Brands on Instagram have also experienced significant audience growth: follower numbers have grown 41% for the top 100 brands on Instagram since last November. Audience engagement on the platform has increased 35% in the last three months.

As more brands pop onto the network, engagement is now more distributed. Back in November,, the top 8 brands accounted for 92% of Instagram engagement; today, they account for only 80%, meaning other brands are receiving a greater share of audience engagement.

The top 10 brands on Instagram averaged an engagement growth rate of 19%, and some brands (including Gucci and Tiffany & Co.) even doubled their engagement rates.

Will Instagram’s popularity continue to grow among top brands worldwide?